The New West End Company’s masterplan for Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street marked another milestone as work started on the £5m Japanese-inspired makeover of Oxford Circus which will allow shoppers to walk across the junction diagonally for the first time.

In the current market, it seems that only the well-capitalised, corporate businesses are doing well. But with fewer and potentially more powerful brands at play, what is next for the many independent retailers that require our much-needed moral and promotional support for their survival?

UK retail sales remain depressed according to the latest Retail Sales Monitor from the BRC and KPGM, with like-for-like sales values down 1.2 per cent in the year to March 2009.

The £527m sale of a 50 per cent stake in Meadowhall to London & Stamford meant that shopping centre investment turnover increased in the first quarter of 2009. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the first three months of 2009 saw £817m of investment deals from seven shopping centres, an increase from £255m from eight deals in the first quarter in 2008. The average lot size also increased, with £38m compared to £32m in 2008.

Retail vacancies are continuing to rise inexorably, and now almost one store in seven is vacant across the UK, according to new research from Colliers CRE.

The UK retail landscape has changed dramatically over the past 18 months. The economy is getting tougher by the day for the nation’s retailers and shopping centres, and the downturn shows no sign of abating. As a result, Javelin Group’s Venuescore survey has thrown up some interesting results.

No sooner are the decorations back in their box is it time for centres to start planning their festive displays for the next year. Hannah Prevett unwraps the trends hitting malls in 2009

Springfield Decorations and Display is one of the oldest players in the market, having been trading for over 40 years, and its projects are just getting bigger and better. Last year the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet at Ellesmere Port asked Springfield to create the largest artificial Christmas tree in the UK.

The landmark case between Boots and the Trafford Centre has raised eyebrows – and questions. Hannah Prevett investigates

Frankfurt’s Christmasworld show is a must-see for anybody in the trade of decking out shopping malls. What were this year’s standout trends, Shopping Centre asked Springfield’s Adrian Ford

Centres across the UK have been looking for ways of cutting the cost of Christmas 2009 without losing the essential sparkle. Graham Parker investigates some economical options

Christmas 2008 proved to be a roller-coaster ride for retailers. So which locations were the winners, and what strategies proved most successful in attracting shoppers, asks Graham Parker

IAN WARD has joined the LAND SECURITIES management team as centre manager for the Stratford Centre, located in the Olympic zone in east London. Prior to joining Land Securities, Ian spent three years as general manager of Marks & Spencer at Huddersfield. He joined M&S from Safeway where he spent 20 years in a variety of senior retail roles.

With the BCSC’s shopping centre management conference only weeks away, joint conference chair Eileen Connolly, head of retail marketing at DTZ, is looking forward to a stimulating and productive three days in Liverpool. Graham Parker finds how out it will help managers adapt to the new market

The SCEPTRE Awards 2009 are launched again this month. And the countdown has begun for the fantastic awards dinner on June 24, 2009

UK consumers may be cutting back on their spending habits but if the financial results at Thorntons are anything to go by, the chocolate business is one area that is not suffering the effects of the credit crunch.

I was particularly struck by a brief speech Glenn Aaronson, chief executive of Multi Development, made in London last month. He said that we will only survive the unprecedented storm now battering us if we stick together. It was a salutary message at a time when banks are stabbing borrowers in the back, when landlords and tenants are at each others' throats. But the fact that he felt it necessary to speak in such terms at what should have been a time of celebration - Multi Development UK's fifth birthday - made me realise that we really are in a crisis.

Another month, another new landmark shopping centre opening. Following hot on the heels of Highcross, Leicester, Cabot Circus, Bristol, and Liverpool One, the end of October saw the doors open in the much-publicised Westfield London development in Shepherd's Bush. At 1.6 million sq ft, the development represents the largest in-city shopping centre in Europe, with foodservice accounting for a significant proportion of prime space.

The league table of the UK's top shopping centres has seen considerable change over the past year, according to the latest edition of Going Shopping - The Definitive Guide to Shopping Centres, recently published by Trevor Wood Associates.

JONES LANG LASALLE has appointed JAMES DOLPHIN as its new head of European retail agency. He will lead a team of over 400 retail experts across the region, offering cross-border retail advice to international occupiers, investors and developers.

Budding young environmentalists from schools in 20 major towns and cities across the UK are set to receive valuable lessons in going green and how to help save the planet's rainforests. This is thanks to a new resource pack for schools, launched in October by EnviroMall, a partnership between the UK's leading owner and operator of town centre community shopping centres - The Mall - and a group of environmental experts.

There was dancing in the aisles at the East Kilbride shopping centre when a host of top dance stars kept shoppers of all ages enthralled during October.

Martin Harris, the founder of the UK charity 'Follow your Dreams', which depends largely on shopping centres around Britain to raise funds and awareness for children with special needs, has just won an award from the Special Olympics, an event that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Surrey Quays shopping centre is celebrating its 20th birthday. Built on the site of what was once one of the world's busiest docks, the shopping centre first opened its doors in October 1988 and became a new landmark on the Rotherhithe peninsula in London's Docklands.

Steve Andrews, deputy centre manager at the Hildreds shopping centre in Skegness, walked over hot coals measuring up to 860 degrees to raise money for the Butterfly Hospice in Boston, Lincolnshire.

This year the BCSC marks its 25th year of representing the retail property industry and its Conference & Showcase in November will continue the celebrations at ACC Liverpool - the city's new conference and concert venue.

WORKMAN RETAIL has appointed MELANIE BRUNSDON as marketing and administration assistant at The Market Centre, Crewe.

Hundreds of shoppers gathered at Clarence Dock in Leeds on Saturday, October 11, when stylist Gok Wan took to the catwalk and presented a series of fashion shows to mark the launch of the £260m mixed-use regeneration scheme.

Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design will be working with LDJ Design & Display on a range of projects over the next three years aimed at improving the experience and look of Christmas within shopping centres.

Manchester's Triangle shopping centre saw its footfall figures go sky high during a two-week promotion that gave shoppers the chance to win a trip to the Big Apple.

HRH The Princess Royal gave her royal seal of approval to Grosvenor's £1bn regeneration project Liverpool One on October 1 when she launched the second phase of the now fully-open retail and leisure development in the heart of the city.